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Decline of birds and pollination

Birdlife has been declining in the New Zealand bush for many years, mainly due to introduced predators such as rats and stoats. Professor Dave Kelly and Jenny Ladley of the University of ...

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ARTICLE

Protecting native birds

New Zealand birds evolved in isolation from natural predators for around 65 million years. When human settlers arrived, changes came rapidly, and birds were poorly adapted to withstand threats to ...

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ARTICLE

Conserving native birds – introduction

New Zealand is world famous for its unique birdlife. In our resources on conserving our native birds, we look at the issues surrounding the conservation of some of our threatened bird species ...

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ACTIVITY

Eliciting prior knowledge

In this activity, students are given an opportunity to share what they know about the whio. Two methods of eliciting prior knowledge are modelled, whio bingo and an ideas wall. Although whio/blue ...

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ACTIVITY

Whio feathers – what are they for?

Ducks have three main types of feathers: flight, contour and down feathers. Each feather type provides a different function. Whio live in very cold water and so the insulating and waterproofing ...

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ACTIVITY

Bird hotel

In this activity, students take on the role of migrating birds. By participating in a physically active simulation, they experience the journey from summer breeding grounds to winter feeding ...

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Explore related citizen science projects

CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

eBird

This comprehensive worldwide online citizen science (OCS) project collates bird species, numbers, locations and times of sightings into a large database. You can create a class as a user and, by ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Spyfish Aotearoa

Come and visit Aotearoa New Zealand’s underwater world in this online citizen science project. Discover, count and identify unique fish species that live within our marine reserves ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

New Zealand Garden Bird Survey

This New Zealand-based citizen science project aims to collect data about the types and numbers of common garden birds in our own backyard. This is done once annually during a particular window ...

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TEACHER PLD

Conserving native birds – unit plan

New Zealand is well known for its unique bird life. Our endemic birds evolved in an isolated, island environment. The arrival of people, the deliberate and accidental introduction of mammalian ...

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TEACHER PLD

Diving into inquiry with whio

In this recorded professional learning session, Shanthie Walker from DOC and Lyn Rogers explore why the whio/blue duck is so important to New Zealand. They use the Department of Conservation Whio ...

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TEACHER PLD

Why learn about whio?

In this recorded professional learning session, Shanthie Walker from DOC and Lyn Rogers continue to explore why the whio/blue duck is so important to New Zealand and why it is so endangered. They ...

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Explore related videos

VIDEO

The pollination problem

Many New Zealand birds have declined in numbers, so Dave Kelly and Jenny Ladley of University of Canterbury study the effect this has on native bird-pollinated plants. Dave explains the need to ...

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VIDEO

Rhabdothamnus research

The Rhabdothamnus plant relies on bellbirds and stitchbirds for pollination. Dave Kelly of the University of Canterbury explains that, where these birds are absent, the plants are not surviving ...

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VIDEO

Recently arrived birds

Dave Kelly of the University of Canterbury explains how some introduced birds can pollinate native flowers, but they don’t very often. His assistant Jenny Ladley helps study bird pollinators in ...

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Explore related interactives

SLIDESHOW

Methods of predator control – slideshow

This slideshow allows students to consider some of the pros and cons of various methods of predator control. Use the Slideshow menu for further options, including view full screen, and go here ...

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SLIDESHOW

Diving into inquiry with whio – slideshow

This slideshow, from the webinar Making sense of data, provides additional support for the video tutorial. Use the Slideshow menu for further options, including view full screen, and go here for ...

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SLIDESHOW

Why learn about whio? – slideshow

This slideshow, from the webinar Why learn about whio?, provides additional support for the video tutorial. Use the Slideshow menu for further options, including view full screen, and go here for ...

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